Belcher had some difficulty in explaining his action to
the home government. And the Lords of Trade did not
scruple to censure him.
When the Treaty of Paris (February 1763) brought peace
between France and England and put an end to French power
in America, the Acadians could no longer be considered
a menace, and there was no good political reason for
keeping them out of Canada or Nova Scotia. Almost
immediately those in exile began to seek new homes among
people of their own race and religion. The first migration
seems to have been from New England by the Lake Champlain
route to the province of Quebec. There they settled at
various places, notably L'Acadie, St Gregoire, Nicolet,
Becancour, St Jacques-l'Achigan, St Philippe, and Laprairie.
In these communities hundreds of their descendants still
live.
In 1766 the exiles in Massachusetts assembled in Boston
and decided to return to their native land. All who were
fit to travel, numbering about nine hundred men, women,
and children, marched through the wilderness along the
Atlantic coast and across New Brunswick to the isthmus
of Chignecto.
Pages:
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184